Race Report: Great Eastern Endurance Run ("GEER") 50K
The GEER 50K/100K took place in the George Washington National Forest near Charlottesville, VA, with the start/finish at the junction of the Shenandoah National Park (Skyline Drive) and the George Washington National Forest (the Blue Ridge Parkway). While it is advertised on the web site as a "challenging course" with 7,240 feet of gain in the 50K (over 13,000 feet in the 100K, if you are so inclined), the web site also says that it is run predominantly on single track trails and forest roads with a few miles on the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway. Also, the pictures on the web site are gorgeous: scenes of lakes and waterfalls, gentle trails meandering through autumn woods, and vistas of the Shenandoah Valley. So, I decided to ignore the race profile posted on the web site, which I’m sure was exaggerated due to the scale of the page, and focus instead on the pictures and the average temps of 50-70 degrees. It should be a wonderful run in the woods!
Hah, was I ever wrong. First off, the predicted cold front never came through Friday night, so temps at the 6 AM start were in the mid-60s, rising eventually to the high 80s (more on that later). The first two miles of the race were run on the Blue Ridge Parkway, but since it was dark we couldn’t see much of the advertised views. Then we took a right and ran down a combination of asphalt/gravel/dirt roads till the aid station at the foot of the mountain (I don’t know what the mountain’s name is, so I’ll just refer to it hereafter as "Mean Mountain"). So far so good, with lots of chatting among the runners, and gently rolling roller-coaster hills through the woods. The aid stations were so-so, with the usual ultra fare (though I don’t appreciate grabbing a handful of what I thought were M&Ms, only to find that they’re Skittles…blech tooey!), but the volunteers were a little under-whelming. Good volunteers will pour you a cup of coke when you ask for some as opposed to handing you a 2 liter bottle, and will cut up the boiled potatoes and bananas as opposed to displaying them whole. Oh well, I guess I’ve gotten spoiled at some of the Texas races.
Then things got dicey. The next ten miles were spent on Mean Mountain. First, up up up I go along narrow, rocky, overgrown trails that were a bit claustrophobic at times thanks to how dense the brush was on either side. No opportunity for running, so a brisk hike was the best I could do. Then, finally, the trail evens out and a slow jog seems to be in order. However, thanks to the rockiness of the trail (and the rocks on Mean Mountain are not kind – they are sharp and jagged and only composed of right angles), even a slow jog seemed too risky with my primary fear being a face plant on the rocks or a twisted ankle. So, more brisk walking until the trail starts going down Mean Mountain. Still no jogging allowed since the trail continues to be very steep and rocky, and if I thought a twisted ankle was a possibility on the level section, it would be almost guaranteed on the downhill section. However, after about two miles of downhill hiking, I finally get to the Sherando Lake Recreation Area, where I have to run on roads for about a ½ mile before getting to the turnaround point at mile 15ish (and believe me, asphalt never felt so good). Also, real M&Ms…yay!
Then, believe it or not, I have to go back up Mean Mountain! By now the temps were in the high 80s, and silly me, I only brought two water bottles for my fuel belt, each of which holds 8 oz, for a total of 16 ozs for the next five miles. So, in addition to the misery of hiking back up Mean Mountain, I had to ration my liquids. Not a fun experience. At one point, I decided to eat the snack-sized Cliff Bar I brought along, not realizing until it was too late that Cliff Bars require a fair bit of saliva for a successful mastication effort, and given my liquids rationing, it took me about 20 minutes to get that thing down! Finally I finish my highly unpleasant experience on Mean Mountain, and get to the next aid station at about mile twenty. At this point, I don’t care about cups, and take the whole 2 liter bottle of coke and start chugging…I was a wee bit thirsty, as you can imagine!
The next eleven miles were uneventful, composed of a painful combination of jogging and walking, with a fair dose of self-pity thrown in. The roller-coaster hills which were so fun to run down during the first eleven miles proved to take a long time to walk on the way back. Plus, the sun was out in full force by now, leading to further dehydration and general misery. Then, finally, I’m back on the Blue Ridge Parkway with only two downhill miles to go before the Finish. I check my watch and realize that if I really sprint (i.e. run a 10 minute mile), I’ll be able to finish in under 8 hours…final time: 7:59!
So, lessons learned time, right? OK, Number One: don’t be stupid about liquids! Bring all four water bottles on your fuel belt even if you think you’ll only need to fill up one or two. Number Two: Pay a bit more attention to the course profile and description, and believe the race directors when they say it’s rocky and change your shoes accordingly (my Montrail trail shoes would have been a lot better on Mean Mountain than my Adidas road shoes). Number Three: hmm, I guess I can only think of two. Anyway, I finished, which is what counts, and my quads will eventually heal, as will my attitude. Even now I’m thinking, if I’d only walked less, I could have broken 7:30! Maybe next year? NOT!